Exhibition coupling for beds



Jan. 3, 1939. J. H. DE BOER 8 EXHIBITION COUPLING FOR BEDS Filed May 25, 1937 2 Sheets- Sheet l WWW 43 21 Jan. 3, 1939.

J. H. DE BOER 2,142,487

EXHIBITION COUPLING FOR BEDS Filed May 25, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTO R N EYS Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improved means for close coupling the head and foot boards of a bedstead for exhibition in a show room.

Important objects of the invention are to provide improved short side rails of the type disclosed in my U. S. Patent No. 991,049, dated May 2, 1911, and employed for close coupling the head and foot boards of a bedstead for exhibition in a show room, and to provide, in combination with such short-rails, simple and satisfactory means to support a short bedspread draped between the coupled head and foot boards in a manher to give the spread the appearance of being draped over a short mattress.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan View of. a blank bar for forming one of the improved short-rails;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the blank formed with V-shaped notches at the points of bending and also formed with apertures whose purpose will appear hereinafter;

Fig. 3 a side elevation showing the manner of bending the bar to form the open, framelike rail;

Fig. 4 an enlarged detail cross-sectional view on the line 4- 3 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 a side elevation, partly in section, of the completed short-rail;

Fig. 6 a perspective view of a pair of the side rails and the bedspread supports borne thereby; and

Fig. 7 a perspective view of the head and foot boards of a bedstead coupled by the short-rails and with. a short bedspread held draped by the said spread supports borne by the short-rails.

This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 638, filed January 7, 1935.

The construction of one of the improved shortrails will be first described. The rail has the usual turnbuckle 8 provided with hooks 1 whose shanks are threaded into the turnbuckle and whose hooked ends project outward through holes in the uprights of the rail frame, for engaging anchor bolts or keepers in the posts of the headboard and the foot-board of a bedstead in the usual manner. As shown, the length of the rails is materially less than the width of the head and foot boards.

The rail frame consists of an iron or steel channel bar 8 bent to form a rectangular, slightly-elongated frame with the flanges 9 turned inwardly. At the three points where the rail is bent, the flanges are provided with V-shaped notches It so that when the bar is bent to a rectangular form these notches will be closed and the edges thereof will abut each other. The ends of the bar flanges are beveled at I I and when they 5 are brought together they close the frame at this point with a mitered joint, this jointing being permanently fastened by welding, brazing or soldering. The web of the bar extends slightly at one end, as at it, beyond the bevel H to abut lo the other end of the web. Three of the corners will be smooth and rounded on the exterior, and the abutting of the edges of the notches It at each of these three corners will render it unnecessary to weld or otherwise fasten the frame corners at these points.

It will be observed that the V-shaped notches formed in the flanges of the channel-bar only extend to the web of the bar, so that when the bar is bent at these places the opposite sides of the notches will abut and thus form braces to hold the frame rigid and prevent distortion thereof.

The two shorter sections of the bar 8 are pierced with openings I 3 before the bending operation, said openings being formed oblong in shape to receive the fiat portions of the hooks 1 and thus prevent the hooks from turning while the turnbuckle is being adjusted. One of the longer sections of the bar has its Web pierced to provide a pair of holes I4. The other long section of the bar has a pair of holes 15 spaced similarly to the apertures M. The holes M open clear through the web while the holes l5 preferably extend only part way through the web. The holes l4 and I5 are provided for the mounting of the bedspread supports on the short-rails, as will be explained hereinafter.

A frame thus produced will be exceedingly strong and of light weight, and it will be much cheaper to make than the wooden frames heretofore used. The flanged bar and the abutting of the notched edges of the flanges will make the frame so rigid and strong that the device will withstand much longer usage, this being important in that devices of this sort are not handled with care but are thrown about the shop and store-room carelessly. They are also used many times. Also, weather will not affect this new rail as it does a Wooden frame.

The supporting means for the short bedspread comprise two metal strands I6 which may be of strong, stiff wire or rod. Each strand is bent into a form approximating an inverted U. It has a straight, horizontal medial portion I1 and de- 55 pending legs [8. The lower end portions of the bent strands are passed through the holes 14 in the top sections of the short-rails and are bottomed in holes 15 directly underlying said apertures M. The legs may be bowed slightly past the hooks I and frictionally engage the latter to hold the legs to the short-rails. The straight horizontal portions l1 extend between the two short-rails and are supported in parallel relation. Preferably the legs are bent slightly, as at l9, to spread the portions I1 apart and dispose them close to the head and foot boards of the bedstead.

As shown in Fig. 7, a short spread S may be draped over the supports l6 and held distended thereby in such manner as to give the impression that the spread is draped over a short mattress. This makes an attractive display resembling a made-up bed, and the spread covers the coupling structure.

What I claim is:

1. A detachable and separable exhibition coupling for the head and foot members of a bedstead, comprising short side rails each formed of a frame having upper and lower horizontal bars and vertical end bars rigidly connecting the horizontal bars, means for releasably coupling the end bars of said side rails to the head and foot members of a bedstead, and a detachable upper bridge portion comprising a pair of stiff metal strands each bent into inverted U-form with a straight horizontal upper portion and depending end leg portions, the said horizontal portion extending across the bedstead between the side rails and each leg portion slidably extending through a hole in the upper bar of one side rail and the lower end of said leg resting in a depression in the lower bar of said side rail, to

hold the bridge member vertical and place the horizontal member at the proper level with respect to the two side rails, one of said bridge strands being placed close to the foot member of the bedstead and the other bridge strand being arranged close to the head member of the bedstead.

2. A detachable and separable exhibition coupling for the head and foot members of a bedstead, comprising short side rails each formed of a frame having upper and lower horizontal bars and vertical end bars rigidly connecting the horizontal bars, means for releasably coupling the end bars of said side rails to the head and foot members of a bedstead, and a detachable upper bridge portion comprising a pair of stiff metal strands each bent into inverted U-form with a straight horizontal upper portion and depending end leg portions, the said horizontal portion extending across the bedstead between the side rails and each leg portion slidably extending through a hole in the upper bar of one side rail and the lower end of said leg resting in a depression in the lower bar of said side rail, to hold the bridge member vertical and place the horizontal member at the proper level with respect to the two side rails, one of said bridge strands being placed close to the foot member of the bedstead and the other bridge strand being arranged close to the head member of the bedstead, the upper portions of the legs of one of said bridge strands being bent to position the horizontal portion close to the head member of the bedstead and the upper portions of the legs of the other bridge strand being bent to position the horizontal portion close to the foot member of the bedstead.

JOHN HENRY DE BOER. 

